Advent Series: Announce Hope

Family Advent Series – Week One

Do you want more from Christmas than a chaotic schedule, financial stress, and more stuff? Join us for our Advent series. Each week of Advent (November 27 – December 24), we will fix our eyes on a beautiful truth about God and provide some verses you can read each night of the coming week.

• Week One:     Announce Hope
• Week Two:     Exercise Faith
• Week Three:  Express Joy
• Week Four:    Proclaim Peace

Why not start a family tradition to get more from Christmas than ever before? Grow your faith, quiet your heart, and enjoy Jesus!

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God of Hope

If ever our world has needed hope, it is now. What a glorious privilege we Christians have been tasked with: Giving the Good News of Jesus Christ! He is the greatest hope of all time – our only hope. In this season of Advent, we have an amazing opportunity to speak Truth and Love to hurting hearts.

The Bible opens with a clear account of God’s generosity and desire to relate personally to His favorite creation: mankind. It didn’t take long for humanity to reject Him and sever connection with their Creator and Sustainer. In mercy and with love, God immediately pronounced judgment on sin and offered the hope of a coming savior. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word proclaims the message of a loving God who offers HOPE.

What Are You Hoping For?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

We people “hope” for lots of things: better weather, more money, good vacations, and tasty treats. Sometimes our hopes are more passionate – loved ones saved, illnesses healed. But most people use the word hope to express a wish more than a certainty. Christian, you have some serious Good News to give the world – there’s something way better than wish-filled hoping.

Biblical hope is not like an earthly wish. What God promises is a guarantee. The Savior promised in Genesis is the Creator Himself. God fully understood the cost that would be required to “save” humanity and confidently, sacrificially offered Himself for humanity’s redemption! Love propelled God then, and it still does. God is unchanging love who provides a rock-solid foundation to build your life upon.

Christian, announce it to the world around you: the God of Hope offers joy and peace, and He’s waiting to be received!

Waiting in Faith

Hope means something is not yet realized …. which brings us to faith, because faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1) and a necessary part of receiving what you hope for! Faith, hope, and love always travel together. Christmas embodies all of them, so this Advent season fixes our hearts on beautiful truths. We’ve already looked at how love propelled God to give us life, and how the promise of a savior gives us hope. Let’s use this “season of waiting” to learn about faith.

Scripture tells us faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). Faith is a necessary element for pleasing God, and it moves Him to act. Faith gives us strength and motivation; it encourages others. Faith is the substance of the things we long for…and it is evidence for all to see (Hebrews 11). Faith and waiting go hand-in-hand. If we had everything we wanted, we would have no need for faith.

The excitement and anticipation of Christmas makes Advent an opportunity to practice faith-filled waiting. When we master waiting in faith, we announce beautiful truths about the God of Hope & Love who is the incarnate Christ. But there’s more Good News!

Merriam Webster gives this intriguing definition of advent:  a coming into being.

The promise of Genesis came into being with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But the promises of God find their fulfillment in our individual lives when we make room in our hearts for the life of Christ. Only then can we wait without worry until the final culmination of God’s promises in the Second Coming of Christ!

In the meantime, we can wait without worry because we have confident faith. Spending time in the truths of Scripture builds your faith! We would love to hear how God is using this season to deepen your connection to Him. Share your story with us.

Scriptures for the Coming Week

Monday , November 28                      Psalm 25:5
Family Chat:                                       Why is Truth something that gives you hope?

Tuesday, November 29                       Jeremiah 14:22
Family Chat:                                       Do you believe God will provide what you need?

Wednesday, November 30                  Philippians 1:6
Family Chat:                                       What “good work” is God doing in you?

Thursday, December 1                        Zephaniah 3:17
Family Chat:                                       How do you feel about God finding joy in you?

Friday, December 2                            Psalm 37:4-7
Family Chat:                                       What do you know about God that brings you joy?

Saturday, December 3                        Luke 1:39-41
Family Chat:                                       Who could you visit and share some hope with?